One third of Chinese seeds are fake

The seeds are counterfeits of higher-yield hybrids bred by global producers like Pioneer Hi-Bred and Monsanto.

China's seed industry consists of about 8,700 seed companies, mostly small enterprises, which the government is pushing to consolidate in the hope of improving regulation and producing one or more globally competitive leaders.

Last October, the Ministry of Agriculture proposed raising the level of capital that seed-producing small- and medium-sized enterprises need to register with the ministry, which would, if effectuated, create "no more than 200 companies [that] meet the new requirements and stay in the market," it said, citing Xia Jingyuan, director of the ministry's National Agro-Technical Extension and Service Center.

China's cabinet has also encouraged mergers and acquisitions in the domestic seed industry to "foster companies with international competitiveness," it said.